Karaoke Forums

I haven't met him, but I remember seeing his posts before (of which I've responded to a few in the past) I also remember that he had had at least 2 warnings under his name before (and he was the reason that you got a warning under yours).... You know how it is... sometimes you just can't bite your tongue.

I knew I wasn't dreaming

These days (due to so many laws making it tougher in suburban and semi-rural areas to get as inebriated as decades ago) more are used to seeing some amount of sobriety in a bar, in some venues, it's become an expectation.

Bands contended with this CONSTANTLY years back, small dives and sloppy drunken idiots were just an expected job hazard (yeah it sucked. I'd imagine city bars where people walk and don't drive to a local pub and college area pubs (although the drinking age is 21 and no longer 18- they too likely see their share of sloppy drunks even still) and you KJ's have it the toughest because of the interactive nature of your work.. People are always walking up to you (they have to) handling your equipment and sharing your space.. While I understand what you are stating Sidewinder, unless you restrict your work to specific bar-layouts, age groups, and bar type... assuming you can afford to do-so limiting such activity slovenly, disgusting drunks are something we had to content with, you KJ's even more-so.. Sort've like a doctor complaining that somebody with a virus got to close to him in his office and he might've gotten sick.. Bars make money serving alcohol, they are money making establishments and aren't going to shoot themselves in the foot all the time regarding "cutting off" drinkers decreasing revenue among those occupying their seats for hours a night, Alcohol is the bars bread and butter. I can understand the delemma this poses for folks (such as myself) that spent every spare penny they had on their musical equipment yet it seems to be a luxury to be able to (as the entertainer) tell the venue (that brings in revenue serving booze) that
any sign of loose behaviour is not to be permitted near your equipment...

I turned down gigs (and to this day STILL turn down gigs) for this exact reason, but I don't need the money or the gigs... That's the difference.. If an entertainer can pick and choose, they should anyway !!!! The days playing "dives" or holes in the wall that put my equipment at risk (in terms of damage and theft) ended LONG before my day playing in bars ended.

If you can afford to set your terms, you are more fortunate than many that are trying to make ends meet in a business today that in many places offers less oppt for skilled entertainers. Today assuming I wished to set my terms, I'd NEVER be able to get work ANYPLACE assuming I needed the work.




Because you are working in establishments that make their money serving alcohol to people, there's a limit to just how much such venues are willing to shoot themselves in the foot by cutting people off when they see signs "The person has been drinking". Most bars aren't generating the same revenue they did years back.. They want to serve liquor.


JMO

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Refering to members of this forum as (YOU PEOPLE and THINKING BACKWARDS)
that were trying to help you, I'm sure will get you far.

Stateing that the NFL is cracking down on the fans behavior is a joke, they can't even regulate their own players behavior.How many times does one of these 10 million dollar a year players get to fail a ban substance test before there thrown out 3,5 8 times, would you let somebody damage your equipment 3,5,8 times before you ban them.Money talks and bull s--t walks.

The bar makes money off the people drinking, not people singing, THERE NOT THERE FOR YOU, YOU ARE THERE FOR THEM.

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SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE LAST TUESDAY

One of the bars I work in just fired 2 girl bartenders for giving away $60-80 dollars per person, in drinks and charging $10-20. They were doing this on a regular basis to get tips. The tips would be $30 or so, per person. Pretty nice money on someone elses dime. Am I making it up? NO

Am I making false accusations? NO Another girl made $400 in tips on one of my nights. Can you guess how? Another bartender over heard a few people come in on a different night and say, looks like no free drinks tonight the other girl is working. If I see VIPs staggering all around the bar am I making it up? NO

If they are staggering around the bar, someone served them too much. I not making that up.

My eyes don't lie and I don't have to lie to get or keep my jobs.

Expecting equipment damage because they serve alcohol is ridiculous.

Bar owners are idiots and very rarely know everything that is going on in their bar, especially when they are sitting there getting drunk.

Any KJ that thinks equipment damage should be a "normal" occurance is goofy. Accidents happen, yes. Equipment wears out, yes. Sometimes drunks do stupid things, yes.

Whatever happened to people drinking responsibly and taking control over their actions. Equipment damage shouldn't be a regular part of any job.

A non drinking bouncer could see all of the goings on and take the appropriate action.

I am in business to make money and I can't do that if some drunks knocks my table over on me. Or wants to beat me up because he can't sing. Part of my business doesn't include expecting to replace equipment because of VIPs that could have been prevented.

Yes bars make money from selling alcohol. In the United States everyone is sue happy. And bar owners also have an obligation to make sure nobody leaves their establishement intoxicated. If they have a car wreck and or kill someone the bar owner is going to be held responsible along with the bartender, that should have stopped serving them long ago.

I worked another bar (not anymore) that rotated bartenders every other week. Every week the young hottie worked, there was a fight. I told her it's because of the crowd she attracts, or she is over serving. It was always drunks fighting. How did they get that way? Not from too much karaoke music.

I have equipment insurance and so should the bars. Keep turning in claims and you won't have it any longer.

The bartenders are serving too much to make a few dollars more in tips. Over serving puts the bar owner in jeapardy.

Tell me how a bartender makes $400 in tips in 5 hours? Without doing something she wasn't supposed to do.

My attitude is correct. I shouldn't have to put up with equipment abuse or personal abuse because some bartender wants to make extra tip money over serving.

How many of you get paid too much for drunk abuse? What you get paid is worth regular equipment damage and personal abuse? I have a spare everything. That is not the point. I have spares because of equipment wear and tear, not drunk abuse. It's not the same thing. Especislly when it is preventable by the bartender.

One more thing.

I'm not telling them how to run their bar. I'm telling them how I run my karaoke business and if they want to continue to run their bar like that with VIPs all over the place unchecked, as a condition of my future employment they will provide a bouncer stationed near my table to protect me and my equipment from a problem you are allowing to continue to occur, for whatever your reason.

It's all in how you sell it.

Won;t be long again. Don't know how he slipped back in!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Do bartenders skim money or give out free drinks? Yes, dishonest ones do. Not all bartenders are dishonest. The ones I know where I am from are very honest.
Dishonest bartenders get fired as you said happened to a couple of yours.

A bartender making $400 in tips during an evening is not uncommon and not for the reason you are implying. It depends on how large the bar is, the number of customers, and the generousity of the clientelle. Ive seen people throw down a $5 bill for a 3 or 4 dollar drink and say keep the change.

I have a feeling that it's not the bar but the place you live in that has the idiots.

If you can't handle drunks or the bar wn't, then why are you even staying there? Time to move on.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

A successful club or bar takes people with very special talent from the food and beverage mngr to the swamper. Most owners are very savvy in managing bars or restaraunts. When they built the new stadium in Denver many put over a million dollars into a single bar nearby. They are making money.

Anybody who deals with drunks in their profession needs experience and very hard core understanding of how bars operate and how to deal with drunks. There is an old saying If you cant handle the heat then get out of the kitchen.

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Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

First off, I don't think an NFL game, which caters to families and is open to all ages, is comparable to a bar. Totally different creatures.

Second, its been my experience that clubs don't change into what you personally want them to be. Demands and ultimatums have not worked for me in the past. The only choice you have is to accept each place for what it is, or not and move on. You seem to have many choices out there sidewinder.

Third, it is common practice for places that freepour to make 'em heavy (at least the first one or two) for the heavy tippers. It's just done. But I still prefer to work in a non-metered bar to a metered one because that also gives the bartenders the ability to make 'em weak when the person is getting buzzed. A good bartender will make that first one strong and then taper it back as the night progresses. And you can't do that in a metered room.

SIDE
If you approach the owners with that kind of attiutude you will be shown the door

There is a fine line - drunks are part of this business and you have to deal with it
maybe you should start hosting at Nursing Homes or AA meetings but the again they also have pros and cons.

Just talk to the owner/manager voice your concerns without being a pushy demanding employee. You will be surprised how a little bit of courtesy and respect go a long long way.......

Is it my imagination or is there a certain bigdog in here once again?

By the way Cuey, Side didn't have anything to do with my ban report. That was all due to my explosion directed towards Gemini

Hey remember the movie Roadhouse where the band was inside a steal
cage maybe these guys with problems need to go that route.

L.W.

Not the same BD, that was a coincidence as far as I can see.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I have very simple rules for the two venues I work ...

1. I make you tons of money by bringing in carloads of people that normally wouldn't come to your bar. (It's the reason I'm there).

2. My show is my show, and I do what I want. (This will never change. Granted I am respectful of the owner's property, and don't aim to piss off the patrons, but I've got free reign, and it works).

3. I've got the bartenders' back, and they have mine. (if ever I have a problem with a patron, I never deal with it myself. I always defer to the staff. If I tell 'em someone's got to go they know it's for a good reason, and if they approach me to shut down the music so they can make an announcement, or not to let someone do something ... I've got their backs too).

I've got a cool owner and a pain in the (@$%&#!) owner. Both follow my rules or I walk. I'm the standard in my town though. All KJs and even a few owners in my town respect me and my nights and will usually make an appearance.

People ask why I do what I do the way I do it. Easy answer, cause it works and it's not something other KJs are brave enough to do. I'm a different breed and the people dig it. I don't cater to prudes or purists (although I've got a decent core of them). I don't let dips weeds tell me when or how or what ... I'm fair, consistent, and funny and when someone is endangering the fun for everyone else, they gotta go ... no questions. Here's a situation that happened Friday ...

A couple of dudes come in to the bar - I know them both and how hot headed they can be. One is a duet junkie (did I ever mention how much I hate duets?). Anyway, he's got five slips up all with different singers (who have no solo slips themselves), He's only getting up once a rotation so the singers on his slips all have to wait to sing. He sings his first two, then catches me outside and says, screw the duets I want to do a solo. Okay, right? He's the owner of the slips in my mind. So his next one is a solo. After the song is over, the other dude walks up to me (and I can see the rage already - he's the kind of guy that will sock his best friend over a pool game). He wants to know why he didn't sing the song with the other guy, and I explained to him that the other guy wanted to do a solo. He looks at me and says I'm about to punch you in the f'ing mouth. I said, 'I don't think you want to go there'. And he replies, "You messing with something you don't want any part of ...', which I didn't totally understand. The other guys is denying he said anything which is making the one even hotter. At this point I walk over to the head bartender and ask her to keep an eye on these guys, one move from either and they're both gone. I didn't realize it but they had just been cut off for being too drunk, so she ushered them out the door.

First time in over two years I've had someone threaten me, but unwavering rules are in place so people do get entitlement issues. I'll ban someone for two weeks worth of shows for less crap than that. My shows have no room for it ... drunk or not, you want to be stupid, do it elsewhere.

Croak, Everything in your last response sounds exactly like how I want things to be. Usually they are. I have no problem giving a bar owner/bartender an ultimatum about who is going to stay, them (the trouble makers) or me. Buy lately this VIP thing has escalated and I'm not sure why. But 99% of the responsibility lies with the bartender. If they are over serving just to make more tips, it's not right to put everyone else in jeapardy because of it.

The bar owner doesn't know she's giving away the store, either. (at one bar)

Oops... My bad.

Staggering drunks are a big liability to the bar.

Staggering drunks can cause a fight by tripping into someone. (Seen it happen)

Staggering drunks can spill drinks on people. (seen it happen)

Staggering drunks can trip over your speaker stand knocking it over. (Had it happen)

Staggering drunks are not good for the reputation of the bar.

Staggering drunks are not good for your reputation.

Staggering drunks are a crowd killer.

Staggering drunks have been over served.

Staggering drunks get into the cars and injure and kill people on the way home.

Now tell me how staggering drunks are good for your show, the bar and the crowd?

Why we need more of them?

My friend… you’re right about all that…

but I think the ulcer you’re giving yourself is gonna cause you more grief than any equipment loss due to a staggering drunk.


Thinkaboutit.

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Hate is like taking poison, hoping the other guy gets sick

MFAO!!!!


SW says that he can find a new gig at any bar, but he's fixated on staying where he's at (with all of those "Staggering Drunks..."). I already offered him a solution to his problem.